2008/02/03: CNN: Fog worsens travel nightmare in ChinaFog on Sunday falls delays flights freezes traffic in Hunan province – More snow forecast for Monday and Tuesday as holidays approach – Millions are trying to return home to see their families for Lunar New Year – Three weeks of snow storms across China have claimed at least 60 lives

There has been surprisingly little news out of Bush’s Major Economies Conference in Hawaii:

2008/02/01: Yahoo: No targets reached at climate conferenceA meeting of delegates from the nations that emit the most pollutants ended without concrete targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions, but participants praised what they saw as a new willingness by the United States to discuss possible solutions

2008/02/01: BBC: Bush’s climate talks ‘engaging’The latest US-led climate talks in Honolulu, Hawaii, have been described by delegates as the most frank and engaging climate negotiations so far. It was the second in a series of Major Economies Meetings called by US President George W Bush. He called the first in Washington last year after expressing a desire to find a solution to the climate issue. That first meeting was described by angry EU delegates as a waste of time, a PR stunt for the American elections. But this time the tone was very different. One EU delegate said: “I came expecting nothing and was very pleasantly surprised. Normally, we get sterile pre-prepared statements of policy, but this time there was a very frank discussion exploring the very difficult and different conditions facing each of the countries. It was very constructive.” Brice Lalonde, the French climate ambassador, added: “It was very low-key but people just got on with it. The talks were very positive…until the final statement was discussed.” At that point, he said, Russia and India refused to include a statement that they had been discussing mandatory, internationally binding commitments, even though that is exactly what had been discussed.

2008/01/30: BBC: Hawaii hosts Bush climate talksClimate experts from 16 of the world’s largest economies are in Hawaii for the second in the series of President Bush’s Major Economies Meetings. They will be looking to forge common ground between “old” emitters like the US and Europe and the “new” polluters, such as China and India. The meeting aims to feed ideas into the UN climate negotiations process.

2008/01/31: BBC: Climate ‘could devastate crops’Climate change could cause severe crop losses in South Asia and southern Africa over the next twenty years, a study in the journal Science says. The findings suggest southern Africa could lose more than 30% of its main crop, maize, by 2030. In South Asia losses of many regional staples, such as rice, millet and maize could top 10%, the report says. The effects in these two regions could be catastrophic without effective measures to adapt to climate change. The majority of the world’s one billion poor depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Yet, said lead author David Lobell, it is also “the human enterprise most vulnerable to climate change”. The researcher, from Stanford University in California, added: “Understanding where these climate threats will be greatest, for what crops and on what time scales, will be central to our efforts at fighting hunger and poverty over the coming decades.”

Now here is a colourful evangelical turn of phrase:

2008/02/02: NewsObserver: Young Baptists are going green – Environment is their new prioritySarah McCoy mixes her own laundry detergent from biodegradable ingredients, saves cardboard by taking a cookie sheet to the pizzeria to bring home a pie, and got her parents rechargeable batteries for Christmas.She’s not just another tree-hugger, though. She’s a 26-year-old divinity school student at Campbell University in Buies Creek and a new generation of Baptist leader who characterizes global warming as a “burr in my butt.”

2008/01/28: BBC: ‘Action needed’ on home emissionsEuropean governments and the European Commission are being urged to hasten the development of housing that produces no greenhouse gases. The European Energy Network (ENR), which includes energy advisory bodies across the EU, says better enforcement of green building codes is also needed. Less than a quarter of EU states have introduced certification schemes for houses, as required under EU law.

2008/02/01: ABC(Au): ACCC to investigate fertiliser pricesThe Federal Government has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate fertiliser prices, as part of the wider look into the cost of groceries. Fertiliser is now so expensive and in such short supply that it will be out of reach of many farmers this season. Two years ago, it cost $400 a tonne, but now costs $1,000 a tonne.

2008/01/29: ABC(Au): [Professor Ross] Garnaut warns against short-term emissions targetsThe senior economist who is writing a report for the Federal Government on climate change says there is merit in letting the market decide the rate of cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. The Government is waiting for the report from Professor Ross Garnaut before it commits to a interim target for cuts by 2020. But Professor Garnaut says he does not want strict gas reduction targets brought in in the early years of the scheme.

2008/02/01: CanWest: ‘Muzzle’ Placed On Federal Scientists – Environment Canada policy meant to control media messageEnvironment Canada has “muzzled” its scientists, ordering them to refer all media queries to Ottawa where communications officers will help them respond with “approved lines.” The new policy, which went into force in recent weeks and sent a chill through the department research divisions, is designed to control the department’s media message and ensure there are no “surprises” for Environment Minister John Baird and senior management when they open the newspaper or turn on the television…

In a similar vein, the Tories decided the country didn’t need a National Science Adviser:

Meanwhile that big provincial meeting went down this week in Vancouver:

2008/02/01: TStar: The Alberta elephantWe learned this week that four provinces – Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba – are in talks about forming a common front on climate change. Specifically, they are discussing the creation of a market-based trading system to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. The system would impose a hard cap on emissions, with producers over that level buying “credits” from those below the line. It’s an idea that has been endorsed by a wide range of thinkers, from environmentalists to economists, and the four provinces should be applauded for pursuing it. However, missing from the provincial coalition is Alberta, producer of 30 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach left this week’s premiers’ conference in Vancouver early, before the discussion on climate change. That’s why Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said at the conclusion of the conference that it would be preferable for the federal government to introduce a cap-and-trade system for the whole country, including Alberta. “We’re all going to do what we can as individual premiers representing our respective constituencies,” said McGuinty. “But at the end of the day – I’ll speak just for a moment as a Canadian – I count on a higher level of government, the federal government, to breathe real life into our ambitions as a country.” Unfortunately, added McGuinty, while cap-and-trade systems are being embraced by both Europeans and the Americans, our federal government “suffer(s) from a poverty of ambition.”

2008/01/31: CanWest: Alberta position on emissions means trouble down the roadDevelopment of Alberta’s oilsands, portrayed until now as a good news story for Canada, is coming to be seen as a dirty business. Canadians have been grateful for U.S. interest in the sands and happy for the cash that has been enriching the Prairie province thanks to big-ticket oil. But is it worth it? Increasingly there is a focus on the heavy environmentalist price being paid for the black stuff north of Edmonton. And what of the burden Alberta is placing on the rest of the country in terms of greenhouse gas emissions? With less than 10 per cent of Canada’s population, Alberta spews nearly one-third of its greenhouse gas emissions. Which makes it astounding that this week Premier Ed Stelmach up and quit a premier’s conference in Vancouver aimed at comparing notes on greenhouse gas emissions. He departed after the first day, advertising an unfortunate lack of concern.

2008/01/29: G&M: Alberta to miss climate talksAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach will reinforce his image as Canada’s maverick on climate change today by skipping a meeting with every other provincial leader on how to adapt to a changing environment. Mr. Stelmach, who attended the first day of a premiers meeting yesterday in Vancouver, defiantly defended his climate-change plan unveiled last week – one that has been assailed by environmentalists and business leaders for being out of step with the rest of Canada.

Then Alberta & the feds announced a Carbon Capture & Sequestration project:

2008/02/01: CBC: Task force releases carbon capture and storage planA $2-billion carbon capture and storage plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions was released Thursday by a task force established by the Alberta and federal governments in March 2007. Carbon capture and storage means that the CO2 emitted from oil and gas operations, coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities is injected deep into the ground rather than released into the atmosphere. The report, called Canada’s Fossil Energy Future: The Way Forward on Carbon Capture and Storage, examined what needs to be done to move ahead with the technology in Canada.

Are we going to see an Alberta vs federal Tory tussle?

2008/01/30: NatPo: Tory titans to tussle over emissions – Alberta can’t really win in fight with OttawaBack off, Alberta. That’s the official word from high in the federal Environment Ministry as two Conservative government titans square off over the degree and speed with which greenhouse gases must be cut over the next 40 years to avert global warming. That’s a tough concept to sell as a negative during the currently deep-frozen Prairies. An industrial hue and cry is expected to erupt next month when the federal government releases long-awaited regulations to reduce the “intensity” of greenhouse-gas emissions by the heftiest carbon-belchers in the country. And nowhere will the hit be harder than on Alberta and the frantic expansion of its energy sector. Oilsands extractors and coal-devouring power plant operators will take one look at the federal numbers and declare their preference for the province’s pale green scheme, a kinder, gentler series of targets announced last week that won’t impose actual reductions for another dozen years. But a top federal official called me to eliminate any doubt: When hard federal regulations conflict with soft Alberta targets, Ottawa’s numbers rule.

2008/02/02: AngryBear: Exponential GrowthExponential growth is assured to bring with it exponential resource depletion, the effects of which … will last until we understand that long-term sustainability and growth are mutually exclusive

2008/01/30: MBTMag: Oil scarcity has ‘snuck up on us’, expert saysThe idea that the world’s supplies of oil have either peaked or will soon start declining has suddenly gained new respectability. The concept of ‘peak oil’ has been derided by the big oil companies for years, but at the end of last week came a turnabout. The chief executive of the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, Jeroen van der Veer, put out a paper on Friday forecasting the end of easy oil.

2008/02/03: SMH: Family on climate-change questMeet the Swiss family who put even the “greenest” among us to shame. The Schworers are on a round-the-world mission powered only by wind, solar and human energy to raise awareness for global warming. Seven years into an adventure they estimate will take them 14, Dario and Sabine aim to break a world record by climbing seven summits and crossing seven seas, all without the use of a motor.

2008/01/31: SF Gate: It’s really not that easy being greenDespite the increased hype about companies going green, American business isn’t making much of a dent in major environmental problems, according to a new report card on the state of corporate environmental initiatives. American companies as a whole are making progress in eight out of 20 environmental categories tracked in the State of Green Business 2008 study, while losing ground in two categories and treading water in 10 others.

P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.

“…there are already more human beings alive than the world’s _renewable_ resources can perpetually support. We have built complex societies that therefore _depend_ on rapid use of exhaustible resources. Depletion of resources we don’t know how to do without is _reducing_ this finite planet’s carrying capacity for our species. That is one jaw of the closing vise. The other is the accumulation of harmful substances…”-William R. Catton Jr.,Overshoot, The Ecological Basis of Evolutionary Change, page 10